A Word For You
by fanfictiongoddess
Summary: Words have meaning. Some times many. Watch a bunch of word theme drabbles come alive in the Kung Fu Panda world. Ship,gen, and fluff lie ahead.
1. Hellfire

Hellfire

The Panda should be dead. After being caught in that explosion of Shen's cannon Po should should have been burnt to death in a flash of red fire. Instead, he lived. Terribly wounded and unable to fight back, but alive.

As Shen approached the wounded panda he thought of just stabbing Po with his sword right then and there. But seeing Po laying there, looking at him with half lidded eyes full of pain, something in him suddenly made him desire to keep the panda.

Suddenly he wanted to see Po cower before him, and eventually serve whatever whim Shen desired. Sp instead of stabbing Po, he lifted the butt of his sword up. The last thing Po saw before being knocked out was the odd smile the crested the peacocks beak. It made Po shudder before he was hit with blackness.


	2. space

Space

One thing Po had noticed about Tong Fo when encountering him the first time was the guy had trouble with understanding about personal space. Always leaning into his face or touching. It wasn't until another encounter where Tong Fo got close enough to Po to get a good hit in, but instead gave the panda a quick kiss, did Po realise what all that closeness had meant.


	3. uncomfortable

Uncomfortable

"Do I have to be the one to fight Tong Fo? He kind of makes me feel uncomfortable." Po whispered to Monkey.

"Oh, stop being a baby." Monkey whispered back.

Po glanced at Tong Fo, who winked at Po.

"Did you see that! He winked at me!" Po cried.

Monkey rolled his eyes and started the fight.


	4. cloud

Cloud

"That cloud kind of looks like Po." Mantis observed as he looked at the sky.

"Clouds are fluffy. They all look like Po." Monkey said without looking up.

"Oh hah hah guys." Po said.


	5. dinner

Dinner

Crane nearly choked on his food when he felt Monkey's tail caress his leg under the table.

"You okay?" Viper asked.

"Fine. Fine." Crane said quickly before sending a light kick Monkey's way to tell him to cut it out.

"Ow! Who kicked me!" Po cried.

Monkey said nothing to all this, only throwing Crane a mischievous look over the bowl he was drinking the last of the soup broth from.


	6. fluff

Fluff

Mantis had fallen asleep more then once when perching on Po's shoulder. It wasn't his fault the panda was just so fluffy and comfortable.


	7. rain

Rain

The dark clouds had been looming in a threatening way all day. So it wasn't a shock when the rain started to pour. Crane also wasn't surprised that his first thought when it started to rain was to extend a wing over Viper to keep her dry. Viper looked up and smiled at him and he smiled back.


	8. tiny

Tiny

"Man, I never noticed how tiny your hands are before." Po commented to Shifu. Po then found out that tiny hands were just as adept as bigger hands at grabbing ones ear and dragging the person attached to said ear to the training hall.


	9. silk

silk

Po's surroundings confused him. After being captured by Shen he expected to be dead, or at least in a dark dungeon somewhere. Waking up in a comfortable and fancy looking room, laying on a pile of soft silks and pillows was not expected. This would have been more comfortable if not for the metal collar around his neck, attached to a chain that was attached to the wall.

"Okay. Not sure whats going on, but it can't be good." Po said to himself.

He started testing the chain leashes strength when Shen entered.

"Oh good, you're awake." Shen said, a smirk on his beak.

"Yeahhh, actually kind of surprised I'm still alive. Not that I'm not glad I'm alive. But... why?" Po asked, fairly calm even in the face of his enemy.

"I could have killed you, yes. But that wouldn't had been as fun or as interesting as your fate now." Shen said, approaching Po.

Po was growing nervous now. It would be hard to defend himself chained to the wall. But he would still try if it came down to it. He was starting to get to his feet when Shen lunged and knocked him back down.

"Hey! Personal space!" Po cried.

Shen chuckled.

"I'm afraid your personal space is a lost right. Just one of the many ways I plan to scar you." Shen said, one of his talons caressing a area Po would rather not have had the villain touch.

Po's eyes went wide as his brain processed the meaning of the implication. Shen laughed to see the look on Po's face before speaking again.

"And when I'm finally done with you, we'll see if these scars will ever fade." Shen hissed.


	10. ice

The snow was coming down in large flakes that would soon recover the Jade Palace so soon after the last snow fall. Shifu would have preferred a longer break between snowfalls. But oh well, one could not control the weather.

Now he was braving the steps despite the iciness of them. Though he was not about to let ice keep him from getting to the training hall he was at least careful about it. But even still, Shifu's foot found a hidden patch of ice.

It might had been a painful fall if Po had not shown seemingly out of nowhere and grabbed hold of Shifu's arm. After a fine balancing act from the two of them, Shifu got his back.

"You okay Shifu? I thought you were going to take a nasty spill there for a second." Po said.

"Yes... I'm fine. But thank you. That could have been a bad fall as you pointed out." Shifu said.

Po gave a smile of relief. Shifu was almost afraid Po would ruin this moment by saying something silly or perhaps suggesting that he help Shifu down the rest of the way. Though well meaning, that action would had been insulting.

Instead Po started down the stairs, side by side with Shifu. Shifu could tell Po was keeping an eye out for more ice patches but said nothing about it. It seemed Po had learned some social grace after all.

"Hey! My reflection looks weird in this ice patch!" Po said.

Then again...


	11. Broken

Note: This belongs in the series of "hellfire" and "silk". And dman, this turned out darker then I planned.

Six months. Six long months that felt like six years had passed for Po. At the beginning of being in Shen's care Po thought he be able to escape. Or at the very least handle it until one of his friends came to save him. They were out there after all. He was sure of that for two months in.

After those two months, he stopped hoping. Either they were dead or just didn't care. Sometimes in his darker moments Po would think it was the latter. But then that last little speck of the old Po would speak up and remind him that friends didn't abandon each other.

But then... were they really his friends?

Shen would let slip poisonous words from his beak that would effect Po's heart and soul. That he would find all that was dear to him and crush it and that it was only Po's fault. Po stopped denying that after awhile. What if it was?

For so long, Po had not spoken a word. He just sat in his normal spot, staring at the floor. Today was looking like he wouldn't really deviate from that plan when the door to the room eased open. He cringed, expecting Shen.

Instead, it was Crane and Mantis.

"Po! Thanks goodness you're alive." Crane said, quickly heading to Po's side.

Po lifted his head for the first time in weeks, blinking. He was almost afraid that Mantis and Crane was merely an illusion. That they would disappear and he be left alone in this hell.

"Po? Po!"

Po blinked again, realising that Mantis was calling out his name.

"You're... here.?" Po said, his voice raspy.

"Of course, we weren't going to abandon you. Now we have to hurry. We got in here far too easily and I'm worried." Crane said.

"And well you should be." Shen's voice called out.

Crane and Mantis whirled about to see Shen and some gorilla guards at the doorway. Crane instantly got into fighting position.

"It'll take more then you and a couple of guards to defeat us." Crane said.

"Perhaps, but I think you will be taken down quite easily by your own friend." Shen said.

Before Crane could ask what Shen was talking about, Mantis kicked Crane in the leg. Crane cried out and collapsed. Though Crane tried to get up before another attack Mantis hit him in the right points, paralyzing the bird.

"Mantis..." Po said. "Why?"

"Because I'm sick of being on the run. And because I don't want to end up like you." Mantis replied, though he refused to look at Po.

Instead, Mantis bowed down before Shen.

"I am at your service... Lord Shen."

Shen grinned, seeing that last spark of hope leave Po's eyes.


	12. Fire

"Woah, that's a lot of candles."

Shifu sighed and one of his ears twitched slightly. Po's interruption signaled that his meditation was ruined for the afternoon. Opening his eyes now he looked to Po who looked kind of awed by the firelight of all the candles.

"Is there something I can help you with?" Shifu asked.

Po seemed a little unsure now, knowing he probably had annoyed Shifu. After watching Shifu all this time, he noticed that his ear would twitch when annoyed. At this rate, Shifu was probably going to develop a perpetual ear twitch.

"Well... you kind of didn't show up to dinner. So I thought I'd bring some of the dinner to you." Po said.

"That was thoughtful of you. Thank you, Po." Shifu said.

Po smiled, glad that Shifu no longer seemed annoyed. Stepping in and moving carefully so not to knock any of the candles over, Po brought the food over. Shifu graciously accepted the bowl and chopsticks. Po was just starting out of the room when Shifu spoke up.

"You made this." Shifu said.

Blinking in surprise, Po nodded.

"I did. How did you know?" Po asked.

"After eating food you've made enough times, I remember the taste." Shifu replied.

"Oh... it's good, right?" Po asked, suddenly feeling self conscious.

Shifu looked to Po again, unsure of why Po sounded so unsure all of a sudden.

"Of course. You are many things, panda. But a bad cook is not one of them." Shifu said.

Po grinned now, feeling proud.

"Thanks... that means a lot." Po said.

For a moment, Shifu found that the light in that simple grin was brighter then the candle light around him.


	13. Autumn

Autumn had announced itself by the way the leaves were starting to change color. They also started their yearly descent from from the tree branches, making raking chores for many. Unfortunately, that also meant that the ground was full of obstacles for those lower to the ground.

Mantis had landed in a pile of leaves for the fifth time today and was quite grouchy about it.

"Isn't it Po's turn to rake the leaves?" Mantis complained.

"I'm sure Po has a good reason for not getting to the chore yet." Viper said, slithering over to the leaf pile.

"I know the reason." Mantis said, removing a wet leaf from his back. "It's because he's lazy."

Viper sighed and shook her head.

"And you can't be?"

Mantis paused and glanced at Viper.

"Yeah.. well... I wish I had a love interest who would defend me when I do something slightly wrong. Guess Po's lucky that way."

Viper looked shocked by the words and tone that came from Mantis. Then she started to laugh.

"Love interest? Me and Po are in now way involved. He's a sweetheart but he's not my type."

"What is your type then?"

Viper seemed to be thinking about that. Suddenly she leaned over and nuzzled Mantis lightly. She chuckled when Mantis froze and started to slither off. A few moments later, Mantis recovered.

"Hey! Wait up!" Mantis cried, hopping after her.


	14. Velocity

Note: Okay, I've decided to take request for prompts. With ONE big rule.

I will not accept any Tigress/Po or mainly Tigress related prompts. I'm sorry, but I really don't like the pairing or the character.

Anything else is fair game. Het, slash, heck I can tackle a threesome perhaps.

So give me a pairing or character, and a prompt (it can be a word, a line, an idea. Anything.) and I'll take a stab at writing it.

Now, on to the drabble.

Normally, Ping was not one to move with such speed and velocity. He was a noodle maker. Noodle makers were not widely known for moving quickly. Still, Ping could move quickly if he wanted to.

Such as now. There was no way that Ping was about to let that soup over flow. With a grace that almost equaled that of most Kung Fu masters Ping juggled stirring the coup, making sure the moon cakes were not burning, and taking an order from a customer.

Ping was not a fighter. But when it came to taking care of his kitchen, he could not be defeated.


	15. Tail

Note: This drabble done fo KristenTheKittyKat with the prompt word "tail".

Sometimes Monkey and Crane would spar without the watching eyes of Shifu or the others. In those sessions the two animals would end up sparring in a more interesting way then normal. As of now they were balanced on opposite's sides of the jade tortoise of wisdom. Crane had his wings spread out and was standing on one leg, waiting for Monkey to make his move.

Monkey who was crouched over on his side of the jade tortoise seemed to be thinking. That worried Crane. Monkey could be wild enough when he wasn't thinking. A thinking Monkey meant trouble. Suddenly Monkey gave a mischievous grin and leaped at Crane.

Crane jumped, whirled about in the air, and landed on the other side of Monkey. A quick kick from the bird was blocked as Crane expected. He tried lashing out with one of his wings when he felt Monkey's tail wrapping around one of his legs.

He wasn't entirely shocked by this. Monkey was known for doing this in their private sparring. And Crane enjoyed it. He just didn't expect this move so early. Before Crane could say anything, Monkey fell back into the hollow of the Jade Tortoise. Crane yelped a bit of shock as with Monkey's tail around leg he got dragged in after Monkey.

They landed, Monkey safely on all fours and Crane maneuvered that he was on Monkey's back. After a moment Monkey's tail unwound from Cranes leg and stroked Crane's chest feathers with it. Crane puffed his feathers out a bit in pleasure before speaking.

"Starting a little early, aren't we?"

"Do you mind?" Monkey asked.

Crane chuckled a bit, nuzzling the side of Monkey's neck.

"Not really."


	16. Under The Weather

Note: Also for KristenTheKittyKat, with the prompt " under the weather.". Also, just to let you know I'm not doing prompts in order of receiving but rather in the order of finishing.

I am still working on others drabbles, so no worries..

"I'm telling you, I'm fine." Mantis complained.

For the last hour Viper had been telling Mantis that he should rest. It had been just a few sneezes according to Mantis, but Viper felt that he was feeling sick. And of course he wasn't sick. So what if he had been sneezing so hard that he had gone through two sliding walls more then once? And so what if he was shivering randomly?

"Mantis, you should at least lay down." Viper said, breaking Mantis out of his thoughts.

"But-" Mantis started when he sneezed again, this time slamming into one of the columns in the great hall.

"Is this silly argument over or do I have to resort to dragging you to your room?" Viper asked as she slithered over to Mantis.

A deep sigh escaped from Mantis. "Fine... but I earn tough points for hanging on this long... right?"

Viper shook her head and sighed. She would explain about how putting up a tough front was unneeded around her, once she got Mantis to his room.


	17. sound

"I still say I don't sound like that." Crane grumbled.

Monkey sighed from his spot laying next to Crane.

"Can we please let this go?" he asked.

"No. I'm not ready to let it go. You think I sound silly." Crane replied, feathers slightly ruffled.

Oh great, Crane was going to be stubborn about this one. Monkey sat up, letting his tail drape over Crane's back and putting an arm around the bird. He then gave his most serious look.

"I do not think you sound silly. And you really DO make that sound." Monkey explained.

Crane gave a snort of disbelief.

"Oh please. Since when?"

"Last night... when everyone else went to sleep." Monkey said.

"But last night we...oh. Are you saying-"

The look Monkey gave him along with the smile pretty much confirmed Crane's thought.

"Yeah. At the time you're kind of too busy to notice." Monkey said.

Crane let that sink in a bit before another thought

"Wait... how does Po know what I sound like?"

"You're also loud."


	18. time

Time had a funny way of changing things. It was easy to muse on such things when one didn't see much action anymore. Crane sometimes was shocked to remember that he was one of those people. Ever since one of his wings got crippled beyond repair in a battle Crane hadn't done that much fighting. He didn't even get to take down the guy who crippled him. Monkey had done that and nearly killed the bastard in the process.

For awhile after that Crane would have darker moments where he wished the one who did this had been killed. And sometimes he wished he himself had died. His life as he knew it had been taken from him. Sure he could still do some moves, but without flight many of his moves were useless. Just like he felt once he realised that.

No one could get him out of the slump he was in after that it seemed. Not even Monkey who had been clearly worried for his lover. No matter what anyone did, it didn't cheer Crane up and some days he wouldn't even come out of his room.

Finally, one day Shifu had came in.

"It's time to stop wallowing, Crane." he had said.

At the time, those words felt like a slap to the face for Crane.

"Wallowing? You think I'm wallowing?" he had snapped.

"Yes. Do you have another word for it?" Shifu had asked.

Crane had been angry at those words. Perhaps more angry then he ever had been in his life.

"I.. well.. so what if I'm wallowing? Who cares? Look at me! I'm crippled now. I'm useless to everyone!" Crane had shouted, sweeping out his good wing.

"Oh stop it!" Shifu had snapped. "You are only crippled if you decide you are! And useless? I think all of us would disagree. More so Monkey. If you wish to be sad about what happened, fine. But you can not let it rule you. The Crane I've trained for all these years is better then that."

Those words thankfully had gotten through to Crane. And though it had been hard to deal with some of his emotions when he saw the others going in battle or handling some tasks he had done with both wings once Crane soon found a balance. A balance he used to this day.

"Daddy Crane!" a white furred monkey cried as she ran up the front steps of the palace towards Crane who was standing on the top of the steps.

Crane looked down at his and Monkey's adopted daughter and smiled.

"What is it, Xuehua?" he asked.

"Daddy Monkey isn't playing fair! He's using both his hands and tail to throw snow balls!" Xuehua said. "Help me throw more back at him!"

Ah, this sounded very much like a Monkey ploy to get him involved in the snowball fight. And it worked.

"Let's go pelt the pants off of daddy monkey." Crane said, heading down the stairs.

"Yay!" Xuehua cheered and followed after Crane.

Smiling, Crane mused on how well time had actually treated him.


	19. Change

Notes: three quick notes for this drabble.

1. Spoilers for Kung Fu Panda 2 contained in here. So don't read if you don't want any hint of spoilers.

2. I very much had the song "Lost and Lonely" by the Rasmus in my head when writing this. Kind of fits the mood of the drabble perfectly.

3. Finally, this drabble is done as a prompt request from Perxio to the prompt word "Change".

How had it come to this? Why had it come to this? And why didn't he see it coming? These thoughts filtered through Wolf Boss's mind as he was beginning to die.

Yes, Wolf Boss was beginning to suspect trouble brewing. But he didn't really think that Shen would be so callous to his pack. To him. It had been only them and the soothsayer who ever paid Shen any positive attention. But it had been Wolf Boss and the other wolves who spilled blood by side Shen. That had to mean something, didn't it?

And those years they spent in exile. More then once they had saved each others lives out in that tough and dangerous world. One would think that such bonds forged during that time meant something.

Though, thinking back on things Wolf Boss had to say he preferred Shen as a child. When him, Shen, and many of the pack members would play. Have fun. Actually laugh happily. But those moments seemed to die with the pandas.

What made things worse that deep in his heart, the wolf boss knew Shen was becoming more and more unhinged as the days passed. That he was changing into something not worth knowing. Yet, he never suspected that Shen would be the one to bring him down.

His last feelings should had been anger at this betrayal. Instead, he felt pity. Pity for the lost and lonely peacock who was far too gone. And pity for someone he thought was his friend.


	20. Intense

Note: Hey all. A mix of the holidays and my muse being a jerk has kept me from posting for awhile. But finally got another done. This one again for Kristenthe KittyKat with the prompt "intense" for Mantis/Viper.

Prompting is still open with the same rules.

"Mantis, Viper. You may begin." Shifu said as Viper and Mantis faced each other for sparring.

Given the go ahead they began. It was almost like a dance the way they sparred. A flurry of movement where legs, scythe like claws, and long sinuous body came together to make a form of expression even in a simple sparring match. Even when they were suppose to be training the emotions Viper and Mantis felt for each other showed through.

A swipe, a block, a couple of kicks. The sparring match was growing more and more intense as they continued.

"I think that's enough." Shifu said.

That said, Mantis and Viper fell back. Each slightly tried from the session but smiling. It was Po who leaned over to Monkey and whispered.

"Did we just see something we shouldn't have?"


	21. Dance

Note: A request from Perxio with the prompt word "Dance" with Po and Shifu. Sadly, I had a hard time making this one subtly slashy . But I still hope it's enjoyed.

Oh, BTW. To that person who keeps requesting Tigress/Tai Lung, please stop. I made it clear in the prompt rules that I wouldn't write any prompts to do with Tigress.

"So... you can really dance huh?" Po asked as he and Shifu were out near the peach tree the day after the incident with Yao.

Shifu's ear twitched as he sighed. He had known Po would bring this up eventually. It was just that he hoped it would not be brought up so soon.

"Yes. I have developed some... skills in the art over the years." Shifu said.

"Some skills? You were moving! I didn't think you could do that."

It sounded like Po wasn't going to let this subject go for some time. Shifu decided it was better he focus on that then the figures, actually. He was set to tune Po out as he would do time to time when Po drew out the fan that Shifu had used during his display.

Po seemed unsure at first, but eventually the question came out.

"I... don't suppose you could teach me some moves."

For a moment Shifu though that Po might had been joking. But one look at Po's eager face dismissed that thought. Even though Po was obviously serious Shifu still thought of turning down the panda's request. So he really didn't know what possessed him to take the paper fan from Po and smirk.

"See if you can keep up." Shifu said, the fan snapping open.


	22. Mask

Notes: Yeah, it's been awhile since I touched the KFP fandom. But I was inspired by the episode "Has Been Hero" for this drabble. So yeah, slight spoilers for that episode I guess.

He was smitten. Monkey could tell that right away. The look Crane was giving the pig and the fact words refusing to come out from his normally witty beak proved that. Normally Monkey would find such a combination adorable. If it were directed at him.

Crane of course had no idea Monkey had feelings for him. And why would he? Why would the jokester of the group be interested in a fairly serious bird like him? Not to mention he had never clearly shown his interest.

But damn it all he was interested. Some part of him had thought that maybe one day Crane would be smart enough to just figure it out. It would make admitting it to him easier. So far now signs of noticing. Obviously considering he just managed to get his beak working. Oh yes, the jealousy was rising but he could not show it.

It wouldn't be fair to be mad at Crane for this. And to show his jealousy clearly would lead to questions he wasn't ready to answer. So he made a joke over it of course as that was his way with dealing with many things. He got back winged in the face for his trouble but it was better then letting his jealousy at the situation show itself.

There were all sorts of masks in the world after all. Humor was just one of the many and happened to be the one Monkey wore well.


End file.
